Spoon - Lucifer on the Sofa

pretty good!

Sounds good, I wonder what movies that video director's been digesting lately. "Green Room?"

i have listened to this song a few time now, it's great. Spoon just doesn't disappoint do they? the video is too violent for me however.

Ahead of the album’s February 11th, 2022 release, Spoon shared the video for the first single “The Hardest Cut,” featuring the band playing the track during a wild house party. Daniel said of the song, the first track he wrote for Lucifer on the Sofa, “I spent a lot of 2018 and 2019 listening to ZZ Top.”

Daniel told Rolling Stone of the then-unfinished album in September 2020, “The songs have a lot of different moods,” Daniel says. “There’s one that’s got a Spanish flavor. There’s one that’s got an R&B flavor. There’s a straight-up epic rock song. When you’ve got all those choices, you can really shape the identity of a record by leaving something off.”

ZZ Top, interesting

https://www.nme.com/news/music/spoon-new-album-lucifer-on-the-sofa-interview-hardest-cut-3081380

last thing for now, good interview here

I'm glad Dave Fridmann isn't involved with this one.

ZZ Top, interesting

― Bee OK, Saturday, October 30, 2021 12:37 AM (fifty-two minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

so interezting

this band is zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz bottom

Me likey

I really liked Transference, tho, which this kinda reminds me of sonically.

Another one!

From last year

https://reverb.com/news/interview-spoons-jim-eno-on-the-bands-recording-techniques

Not on this album but was released today

I Can't Give Everything Away (Amazon Original) by Spoon on Amazon Music
https://music.amazon.com/albums/B09P4FJ8MY?trackAsin=B09P4D1S6J&ref=dm_sh_mLaOtUlaiJhT9lZYWKMXpRJdw

In case you are wondering, yes it's a cover of David Bowie

Just seeing that Hardest Cut video now and thinking it would be one of those "ooooh, MTV banned it and there's no easy way to see it in the US" videos back in the day.

second release from this upcoming album:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eDPhsByCL_o

"wild" is good, i keep coming back to it. it's so u2 though lol, only needs a delay on the guitar to complete the sound

lol did Corbijn even do the video?

Is this like the third or fourth comeback from a song in recent years to allude to house music piano? There was the Vampire Weekend, there was the Lourde, is there another one I'm forgetting?

I love this new single even if one part of it sounds a little like this to me

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysmMoMsoDVs

They are playing practicly in my back yard next week, still don't know if I'm going as I'm still terrified of covid-19

I need some encouragement, should I go?

i don't know what your situation is but if not for having a 10-month old i would be out doing just about anything at this point

The album's solid.

Bee, you're in OC? The 7-day case rate there is currently 81.7 per 100k – even lower than SF County (by contrast, LA County is at 146.8). These rates are still fairly high when judged against the near flatlines between surges, but we're well down the back half of the slope... and looks like the venue requires masks and proof of vax (...or, well, negative test results). If you're vaxxed & boosted and generally healthy, and not living with someone at risk, I'd say the numbers are in your favor for taking the risk and having fun.

Tonight is the night but I still haven't pulled the trigger. I had a friend who was going to go with me so I was all in. They're a teacher and a school night so they backed out. Now back on the fence about going.

You should go! Wear a mask. I think it's good to go/get out after so long, especially if you're still being cautious.

Yeah if you're vaxxed & boostered I say go for it!

I'm vaxxed but yet to get the booster. I'm fine to get into the show

I'm going, thanks for talking me into everyone!

Have fun!

Promos have been out for a bit.

Initially I couldn’t really connect to the record, but it’s growing on me.

I DO appreciate that this band is always doing something slightly different from what they did before, though!

Last night they were the "Greatest Band in the World." as I had a blast just being out and being able to rock with amplified music again. The crowd was very into them as well and this was like their last tour, a greatest hits tour. That part was a bit disappointing as I wanted to hear the new album. They only played three songs off the new album and one they said they released today called "My Babe," which is now my favorite of those three new songs. The other thing I was disappointed with is they totally ignored the last album Hot Thoughts, which is a shame but they are back in rock mode and I guess that album doesn't go with that style.

Feb 8. 2022 The Observatory, Santa Ana, CA

1. The Beast and Dragon, Adored
2. Small Stakes
3. Don't You Evah
4. Do You
5. Lines in the Suit
6. The Hardest Cut
7. Don't Make Me a Target
8. My Mathematical Mind
9. The Underdog
10. My Babe
11. I Summon You
12. The Fitted Shirt
13. Got Nuffin
14. Inside Out
15. I Turn My Camera On
16. Jonathon Fisk

Encore:
17. Isolation (John Lennon cover)
18. Wild
19. The Way We Get By
20. Black Like Me
21. Rent I Pay

Huh, looks like an almost greatest hits-type show.

From the new one, My Babe is the only single that I really like, but I'm sure it'll all hang together as a singular Spoon album. They always do.

no hot thoughts tracks and a rock oriented setlist sounds pretty great to me

nice!

I find the album less interesting than Hot Thoughts but still a blast.

I sometimes forget Hot Thoughts even exists. It's by far my least favourite of theirs but I remain a big fan and will definitely be buying this new one.

Hot Thoughts ruled but just suffered in comparison to their best album THEY WANT MY SOUL xoxo

Hot Thoughts bangs

Hot Thoughts is top 3. They Want My Soul is no. 1.

They Want My Soul is probably my number one too, they even ended the show with "Rent I Pay" which was perfect. i also love Hot Thoughts and was very surprised they didn't play even one song from it. the biggest surprise from the show was "Lines in the Suit" and "The Fitted Shirt" and i heard they brought those out after years of not playing them live. "Got Nuffin" was probably the best live song on this night.

starting an album with a cover is kind of a baller move

I get "NY Kiss" stuck in my head monthly.

Sometimes "WhisperI'lllistentohearit" is my favorite Spoon. I dig Britt Daniel when he's being a creepy sexy dick.

on first listen, this feels like the last few spoon albums - a bunch of pretty good songs that all mush together with nothing in particular standing out as a highlight. the hardest cut comes the closest and that's just because of the BWAAAR BWAAAR BWAAAR BWAAAR part

I mean that's how I'd describe Girls Can Tell personally, and everyone loves that one. Not that it's bad at all.

Heh, that's me and KTM. I thought THAT was the consensus favorite.

I appreciate them extracting an unlikely Hound Dog Taylor riff from the Smog tune but the rock and roll vocal interjections are silly and sound almost hilariously out of place

I need to hear the rest. I still really like the first two singles.

they're one of those bands where there isn't really a consensus favorite/canonical "best" album. i think it's mostly about when you discovered them. like i'm a telephono/series of sneaks guy (though i also love gimme fiction)

Yeah, Gax5 was my first and I've never really warmed to the previous albums, despite some great tracks.

Saw them in April, they were great, just a good ol' rock&roll show from the git-go.

The opening band was Geese from New York City and this was there fifth show ever. they were good, they are classic rock/Strokes vibe going and I could see they could become something.

As I stated it was my birthday and my friend Rob wanted to buy me a beer. Well he could not find his way back to me. So I was shouting on my phone between bands and of course everyone around me knew what was going on. Then a bunch of people put on their flashlight, on their phones to try and direct him back to me. I then had a dad and his daughter trying to help and he was throwing his daughter up in the air for my buddy to see. It was the greatest thing ever. It didn't work and so I lost my prime real-estate.

Spoon were great as usual. My only complaint is they played like six songs from the new album but that was fine as it's this tour. My friend, who had skepticism of Spoon, absolutely loved them and finally after all these years won him over.

They said they haven't played this in a long time. I know I have never heard it live before. "The Mystery Zone."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zI29iv4hDUE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ryyHZeK4aNc

Probably my favorite song from this album, anyway the video was released today.

This album is such a triumph. The term that keeps coming to mind, for whatever reason, is "victory lap."

I was trying to construct an elaborate and unnecessary career analogy between Leonard Cohen and Spoon, which would I guess make this = 1992's The Future (25 years on from the debut and releasing some of the best songs of their career, just with slightly longer gaps between albums). Here's hoping I don't have to wait 9 years to hear the next one!

I'm actually loving this a lot myself. I began playing Spoon non-stop for two days after having to pass on their surprise show last night due to work and life commitments (at a small venue with a mere 280 capacity - ARGH) and I was surprised how great this sounded after hearing the previous five albums in a row. Hot Thoughts was commendable but I liked those songs better via live recordings - same arrangements and everything but something about the way that record's mixed made it sound kind of congested and a bit too manicured for my tastes. The sound of Lucifer really jumps out more, and it feels more lively and a bit more spontaneous - the more I listen to it, the more it feels like everyone's in the moment and playing off of each other. It's possible that's not the case at all, especially given how much work was done during the pandemic, but that's what I hear.

Huh, didn't see this coming... Lucifer On the Moon a "reconstruction" of LOTS by Adrian Sherwood.

https://pitchfork.com/news/spoon-announce-remix-album-share-video-for-new-version-of-on-the-radio-watch/

i love the idea of a full-album remix done by a single producer, wish more bands did it

I'm all over this, despite this being my least favorite Spoon album. Can't help but wonder what Sherwood would have done with, say, Gax5. Oh well. The preview single sounds fantastic - much better than the album version, in my opinion - and let's be honest, if there is a single indie band warranting this sort of treatment, it's Spoon.

Even less of a favorite than the pre-Girls Can Tell stuff? That's a bold stance. I really dig this new one.

it's still minor spoon but i've got it on right now and some of these songs are pretty darn good.

Yeah, I think, on balance, I prefer the pre-GCT stuff to their latest. It's the first Spoon album with songs I skip, and I think the Smog cover may be my least favorite thing they've ever done. It hurts, too, because they are pretty much the only active rock band I still check out. I will say there are a few songs on Lucifer I do really like, especially the title track (which I love), and the first single

as of this moment

Gax5
Transference
Kill the Moonlight
Gimme Fiction
Hot Thoughts
LOTS
They Want My Soul
Girls Can Tell
A Series of Sneaks
Telephono

Very close to mine! And I thought I was the only one who rated Transference near the top. Very underrated Spoon album, I think.

That said, I definitely like Girls Can Tell more than you do, though I will concede it really starts to sag near the end. May have to think about my ranking.

Honestly the top 5 there is nearly interchangeable, I love them all. I don't dislike GTT, more that it's just the top of the lower division of their catalog. TWMS I waffle back and forth on a lot, it's one I struggle with full loving but the heights are undeniable. KTM was where I first learned of Spoon so I rate it pretty highly.

Fucking love Transference.

God-tier:

Gax5
Transference
Kill the Moonlight
Girls Can Tell

Killer:

Gimme Fiction
They Want My Soul

Merely excellent:

A Series of Sneaks

Meh:

Hot Thoughts
Lucifer
Telephono

as of this moment

Gax5
Kill the Moonlight
They Want My Soul
Gimme Fiction
Hot Thoughts
Transference
Girls Can Tell

Lucifer on the Sofa
A Series of Sneaks

Telephone

Wow, not a lot of love for the first two albums here. Thread may inspire me to re-listen to the albums chronologically to come up with a ranking. I know Hot Thoughts and TWMS sort of blend together for me for some reason, as do the highlights on Girls Can Tell and Kill The Moonlight

As I'd hoped, Lucifer On The Moon goes a long way to redeeming this album for me. With the exception of "Held," which is beyond saving imo (easily my least favorite Spoon track), all of the songs I wasn't crazy about on the original album are improved upon here. I still prefer the original version of the title track and maybe "Held," but overall I think these Sherwood remixes make for a much better album. That said, I wonder how I'd feel about it if I wasn't familiar with the source material. How weird would it have been if they'd just released this instead of Lucifer on the Sofa?

(meant to write I still prefer the original version of the title track and maybe "Wild")

Any love for this record, ILX?

2 weeks ago i went to the pub.
came home and bought the on-u version.
about 2 mins in i realised i had bought the normal version.
clearly i had more booze than i realised.
back to bandcamp, and bought the on-u version.
would never have normally bought the normal version, but yeah, its rather good.
of course i am all about the on-u version which is bloody brilliant a la echodek.

That's a good comparison. As with the Primal Scream album, I think this works really well as a standalone LP, even without necessarily being familiar with the source material

I haven’t heard Moon yet, but maybe I’ll give it a spin.

The source album left me pretty cold the few times I played it. Maybe I should try again, as a lot of people hear something in it.

I revisited it several times for the same reason - that others seems to hear something in it I didn't - and my opinion did not change. It's absolutely my least favorite Spoon album. That said, I've been really into Lucifer on the Moon, so I'm curious to hear what you think of it!

Madness in this thread. Lucifer is top-tier Spoon!

I really love the title track. "Wild" is nice and I like "On The Radio" quite a bit. But the Callahan cover is the only Spoon song I'd actually call "embarrassing." And they put it first! Most of the rest is just forgettable imo

LOVE the Callahan cover, sounded incredible when I saw them last month in Austin.

this dub project is like it was aimed right at me as a susceptible fan-- i like the concept of it as much as anything else about it. and yeah i like the remixes. 'wild' is pretty damn amazing. the violin parts of satellite sit just right in there, loved it, then glides over to piano piece.

all of the pieces feel weirdly short to me, like soundbites of great bits

Yeah, I was surprised by the mixed reception because I really enjoyed the new album a lot. I'm not sure if it was recorded live (I would have guessed piecemeal if it was done over the pandemic) but it feels like a live performance with the way they're playing off of each other, and all the better for it.

Nine months later I am still deply in love with Wild and My Babe, which feel like flipside songs about the same topic - growing old. Wild is that nostalgic yearning for the potential of youth, that thirst for adventures (or the memory thereof), whereas My Babe is like the Spoon equivalent of that "that Captain Corelli quote that people have at weddings" as my friend Rob put it, past the first flush of excitement (and the second and the third and the fourth) and probably through shared trauma and out the otherside into the intertwined-roots stage.

I think this is a good and enjoyable Spoon record. I like it more than the last two, and maybe as much as Transference. I am absolutely baffled that anyone wuld find Held embarassing: it's my third favourite after the aforementioned pair.

It's an album that struts. It makes me want to be in a band in my friend's garage in the summertime, which is what I want from Spoon, plus those edges of real emotional depth and insight that occasionally shimmer through, which is also what I want froma Spoon record.

I'm not really a big Callahan stan or anything, but I do like the original version of that song, and I don't think I've heard a cover that misunderstands a song more than this one does since the last time a church choir sang Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah." I mean, the original is an intimate, vulnerable work, and Spoon turned it into a Black Keys song, complete with rock star "whoo!" interjections. Just found it tacky, almost vulgar. Like I said, it's the first Spoon song in their entire discography I strongly dislike. I will continue to ride for Spoon.

Ah, I've never (knowingly) heard the original, so basically heard it (like Domn't You Evah) as a Spoon original, and as such it feels REALLY Spoon-y to me. Have a couple of Callahan albums but not precious about him at all, and my favourite song by him is Eid Ma Clack Shaw, so view him as having big sense of humour...

"Held" sounds to me like a very good band in a room joyfully playing music together...

don’t know the original, don’t care for callahan but the juxtaposition between the big bluesy riff and the lyric about letting oneself be held for the first time is fantastic

Agree with Ponzi that Held is the only Spoon doing I've actively disliked (whereas a few others just leave little impression). The worst song of their career for sure.

As for Lucifer on the Moon, I'm not enjoying it like I'd expected to. I love Spoon and Adrian Sherwood in almost equal amounts, but there's not much that's transcendent here. If I wasn't familiar with the original albums I would find the choices about the "kept" vocals and guitar parts quite baffling. These don't really feel like proper dub workouts to me. Somehow it remains more rock than dub.

I’ve disliked a few Spoon songs in the past — finally coming around to The Fitted Shirt, even, which I never got the love for.

I just listened to all their records in order on headphones, and I’m now firmly convinced that they’re the best rock band of the century. Their records are insanely well produced and arranged, but they never fail to really rock when it’s required. Like they _seem_ really cerebral in the way their songs are put together, but they rarely trip over their own brains; if it comes to conceptual whatever vs just givin’’er, they almost always err on the side of kicking out the jams.

I’m not mad on They Want My Soul or Lucifer. Both albums seem lacking a sense of aural space that feels essential to their appeal. But I _buy_ TWMS in a way that I don’t buy LOTS. Maybe it’s an allergy to classic rock tropes, and maybe it’s something I’ll overcome; I came around to Hot Thoughts after being initially cool toward it.

I do like Wild. One of my top songs of the year. But most of the rest of LOTS doesn’t ring my bells.

Listening to Lucifer on the Moon, though…. I think if they had released this as the album I’d think it was up there with their best — some trick of perception. Can see myself listening to this a lot more than the main album.

This new song Sugar Babies is pretty good. More interesting that anything on Lucifer on the Sofa.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ux_FGrZuvko

I was wondering what you were talking about Nate and then found the song. Yes you're right, good.

ty, I should've done that really

This is great
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8vIyOnl6K8

Killer EP.